Professor Ismael Sanz is Professor of the Department of Applied Economics I of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. He has a PhD in Applied Economics at the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM). He won the Extraordinary Prize for Doctoral Thesis 2007 from the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences (UCM). 

He was the General Director of Innovation, Scholarships and Grants of the Ministry of Education of the Community of Madrid (July 2015- August 2019). Director of the National Institute for Educational Evaluation (INEE) of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports (2012-2015). Chair of the OECD PISA Strategic Development Group (November 2014-July 2015).

He is the author of articles in research journals such as the Economic Journal, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Canadian Journal of Economics, European Journal of Political Economy, Public Choice, Small Business Economics, or IZA Journal of Labor Studies.

He has completed study extension courses and research visits at the University of California Santa Barbara, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), New Zealand Treasury Department, University of Otago (Dunedin, New Zealand), Australian National University, Kennedy School of Government (Harvard) or University of Nottingham.